Seeking Advice for New Smoker

S

Steve J

Knows what a fatty is.
Joined
Jan 30, 2017
Location
VA
Good morning everyone,

I have been considering getting a pellet smoker for quite some time simply for those evening meals where I don't really want to have to deal with everything thing that goes into setup and cleanup of smoking over wood/charcoal.

I think I've narrowed my choices down to two, but I'm open to hear your opinions. The two I'm considering are 1) the Grill Grill Silverbac with comp cart, or 2) the Weber Smoke fire (EX4). With the Silverbac, the cart it's on has tires which will make it easier to move to my patio at the back of the house. I've seen and heard nothing but great things about it. As for the Smoke Fire, I am aware of all of the issues with it, however I've seen the majority of the issues with the EX6 (and honestly, I really want to believe that during this time, Weber has made some changes to their product; plus it's a sweet looking smoker with a lot of room).

There are a few other brands that are on the fringe, however, my biggest concern is being able to move a smoker across the grass to the back of my house. Of course I'd also like one that can produce good smoke flavor and is made by a company with a good reputation. To that end, I've also considered a Camp Chef Woodwind Wifi 24, and a RecTec 700. To be honest, I think the CampChef Woodwind would be the best smoker, however it only has the small wheels and I'm not sure how it would do across grass; my concern with the RecTec is the price. The smoker is already $1200, and when you add in the cart, as well as any additional items, that price could easily double.

Sorry for the long rant, but I'd really like some advice on this one. Thanks
 
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If it was down to the Silverbac or EX4 right now I would definitely feel more comfortable going with the Silverbac. I am a big fan of Rec Tec(q), but everything I have seen on here about Grilla Grills has been positive. Also totally get the competition cart. I have to roll on grass and it makes a huge difference with ease and worrying about it tipping over.
 
Mak, especially if you're going to use it a lot.

Nothing would get me to touch another Weber GreaseFire - ever.
 
Smoker

Hi Rec Tec hands downs. I was thinking about the Weber smoke fire,when they first coming out until "ALL" the problems arose. Best $ I've spent on smoker, Rec Tec 590.
DanB
 
With most options, different wheels are not that big of a hurdle. At worst, you need to adjust the leg lengths on the other end to keep things level.

When you can get 8"~10" tires for ~$20 from (in my case) Harbor Freight, I'd have no issue swapping the axle and tires for something easier to pull across a grass yard.
 
Do any of these weigh enough that rolling ease is such a serious consideration? They all seem to be a little under 200 lbs. My Open Range weighs 50 lbs more and it not terribly difficult to maneuver over lumpy grass.
 
That's easy, time to build a sidewalk :p As Joedy stated I heard a lot of good about Grilla but, still have to stick with my Rec Tec
 
You can't go wrong with the Silverbac on the Comp Cart. Grilla Grills is a good group of people who are doing things the correct way. Customer service is top notch and they've got a legion of dedicated customers who love their grills.

Personally I think the issues with the SmokeFire were exaggerated, but the response from Weber is what people were worried about. It was very poor and it showed how far the company has gone down the hill over the years. There were issues with the Weber Summit Charcoal Grill, then they had issues with the reissuing of the classic "red" grill not too long ago. Then the issues with the SmokeFire shows that they just aren't the company many of us thought they were. This is all my two cents, but at this point in time I wouldn't do business with them at all.

Good luck on whatever you purchase, but you really can't go wrong with the Silverbac. Note : Grilla Grills did just announce that in the next couple of months they will be adding wi-fi to their cookers. So if that is something that is important to you it might be wise to wait until that's implemented. They did say that all previous grills would be able to upgrade, but of course that will be an additional cost.
 
I watched a great video from Grilla on how they knew they had to have manufacturing in China to stay competitive, and how they oversaw everything and were able to still perform great quality control.. Very impressive.
 
Rec teq has the comp carts on sale for 50% off right now with the purchase of a grill. If you didn’t want the added expense of the comp cart there is a nice wheel mod that people are doing that isn’t expensive.
 
Grilla is very tempting for what you get for the price and they seem to care. The thing that bothers me about them is the video about how to get high temps if you are having issues with The original Grilla round pellet grill. He tells you some areas to clean and then tells you to crack the door because it is too air tight and even tells you that you can bend the sides so that there will be some air space to allow for higher temps. If I recall correctly, the Grilla is around $800.00 maybe a little more for the Alpha, I am not going to spend that much and be bending things or opening the door to make it work right.

I have been comparing different pellet grills and had been seriously considering Grilla. Different companies when there are problems with their products from the beginning send you parts and you have to install and sometimes help troubleshoot
but the product should be designed to work properly as far as I am concerned unless operator error was causing the problem.
 
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SmoothBoarBBQ said:
You can't go wrong with the Silverbac on the Comp Cart. Grilla Grills is a good group of people who are doing things the correct way. Customer service is top notch and they've got a legion of dedicated customers who love their grills.

Personally I think the issues with the SmokeFire were exaggerated, but the response from Weber is what people were worried about. It was very poor and it showed how far the company has gone down the hill over the years. There were issues with the Weber Summit Charcoal Grill, then they had issues with the reissuing of the classic "red" grill not too long ago. Then the issues with the SmokeFire shows that they just aren't the company many of us thought they were. This is all my two cents, but at this point in time I wouldn't do business with them at all.

Good luck on whatever you purchase, but you really can't go wrong with the Silverbac. Note : Grilla Grills did just announce that in the next couple of months they will be adding wi-fi to their cookers. So if that is something that is important to you it might be wise to wait until that's implemented. They did say that all previous grills would be able to upgrade, but of course that will be an additional cost.
Click to expand...

You make some great points. I was one of the ones that got stuck with a crappy Weber Kettle lol. I’m thinking at this point that the SB is the way to go. I’ve asked some questions on both FB groups and the Grilla Grills group is really informative and has provided some great feedback. Thanks again.
 
Mikhail said:
Do any of these weigh enough that rolling ease is such a serious consideration? They all seem to be a little under 200 lbs. My Open Range weighs 50 lbs more and it not terribly difficult to maneuver over lumpy grass.
Click to expand...

For me, yeah rolling rear is a serious consideration. Not willing to assume that based on how either looks, that they’ll roll fine which was why I was asking.
 
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